2 in critical condition after high-speed chase through Tulare County ends in crash in California

Authorities said the two women fled the scene of a home burglary in Visalia as police officers pursued them. (KFSN)

By Brian Johnson
Updated 29 mins ago
TULARE COUNTY (KFSN) -- Two burglary suspects were transported to the hospital in critical condition Monday afternoon after their attempt to flee ended in a crash in Tulare County, Visalia Police said.

Authorities said the two women fled the scene of a home burglary in Visalia as police officers pursued them.

They reached high speeds when the driver lost control at the intersection of Highway 198 and Highway 65, just north of Exeter.

The suspect's car crashed and the women were ejected as the car rolled over.

The two were rushed, one by helicopter, to Kaweah Delta Medical Center in Visalia.

Stay with ABC30 for updates and a live report on this developing story.

3 small children struck by CTA bus in Lakeview, Illinois

Three small children were injured after being hit by a CTA bus in the Lakeview neighborhood Monday morning, according to the CTA. (WLS)

By Sarah Schulte
Updated 2 hrs 56 mins ago
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Three small children were injured after being hit by a CTA bus in the Lakeview neighborhood Monday morning, according to the CTA.

The accident in Boystown in front of the Center on Halsted involved the CTA's No. 8 bus and occurred in the 3600 block of North Halsted. Three boys, a 2-year-old, a 6-year-old and an 8-week-old, were transported to Lurie Children's Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and the driver of the bus was also hospitalized. The 34-year-old mother who was with the kids was taken the hospital in good condition.

The bus was going west on Waveland, taking a left turn south onto Halsted when it hit the kids.

Witnesses said that no one went under the bus and that the pedestrians appeared to be clipped by the bus.

Passengers say the mother seemed to have the right of way. The driver was cited.

"The mother and kids at the same time when the light changed, she stepped off the curb," said passenger M.L. Brown.

While initially it was a frightening scene, witnesses say the mother remained calm as she and the kids waited for help on the curb.

"No one seemed frantic or hurt too bad. The mom wasn't hysterical as you might expect," said witness Casey Dugan.

Two people were injured Monday afternoon when bricks from a building fell on Chicago's West Side

072516-wls-bricks-fall-6p-vid (WLS)

Will Jones
Updated 1 hr 29 mins ago
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Two people were injured Monday afternoon when bricks from a building fell on the city's West Side.

The incident occurred at about 5 p.m. in the 700-block of South Kenneth Avenue in the city's Lawndale neighborhood.

The adult victims have non-life-threatening injuries. They were walking by a two-family home when the bricks fell on them.

Neighbors thought they had heard a car crash.

"I heard a boom and then some lady screaming," said Robby Franklin.

It was immediately undetermined what cause the portion of the building to fall, but city building department officials were expected to be on the scene Monday evening.

1 killed after five vehicles, including two semis, caught fire in a large crash on Chicago's Southwest Side

A fifth car has been discovered in the wreckage after five vehicles, including two semis, caught fire in a large crash on the city's Southwest Side. (WLS)

By Michelle Gallardo
Updated 2 hrs 25 mins ago

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A fifth car has been discovered in the wreckage after five vehicles, including two semis, caught fire in a large crash on the city's Southwest Side.

At least one person was found dead in the fifth vehicle - a minivan. That person's identity has not been released.

The other four drivers managed to escape the crash on the Stevenson Expressway just east of Cicero Avenue. The expressway was closed in both directions at the crash site for nearly three hours. All lanes of northbound I-55 were reopened by 4 p.m. Southbound I-55 is expected to remain closed until at least 7 p.m. as the investigation continues. Drivers are being detoured onto Pulaski.











Illinois State Police said the two trucks collided on outbound I-55 near Cicero around 10:50 a.m. Monday. All of the vehicles appeared to be fully engulfed by flames, and thick, black smoke could be seen for miles.

The fire department upgraded the blaze to a two-alarm around 11:25 a.m. State police said one of the semis was hauling a hazardous material - 17,800 lbs. of paint. The other was carrying 40,000 lbs. of frozen meat. A Level 1 hazmat response was called. CFD dispatched a foam truck from Midway International Airport to help put out the flames. The fire was extinguished by around 11:55 a.m.

After the fire was struck, an EMS Plan 1 was called, which sends five ambulances to the scene.

All three cars were destroyed by fire. State police are investigating whether the cars were involved in the original crash or if they were collateral damage.

Traffic on I-55 was backed up for miles in both directions Monday. Drivers were advised to seek alternate routes.

No sooner did the crash take place than the tanker truck of paint burst into flames. The materials spilled, spreading the fire onto four other vehicles, including a second semi.

Just getting the right emergency equipment on site to fight the fire proved a challenge.

"We're concerned about flammable liquids, there's corrosives. We had to regroup, back off, get the proper equipment," said Asst. Deputy Cmsr. Timothy Sampey, CFD. "So we had to stop the traffic in both directions as well as the runoff of the flammable liquid coming towards the traffic stuck in traffic - a lot of things to juggle at first."

The drivers of both trucks were unharmed. One person in a passenger car was taken to the hospital in stable condition, but it wasn't until the fire was struck and a search conducted that a body, inside a minivan stuck underneath the first semi, was discovered.

"It's going to take some time for our investigators to determine exactly what happened. Review all the parties that were involved, all the drivers and passengers if applicable to find out exactly what happened," said Master Sgt. Jason Bradley, ISP.

Construction worker killed after lightning strikes him in his chest in Bonita, Florida

July 25, 2016 4:06 PM EDT

 
BONITA SPRINGS, Fla.- A construction worker is dead after being struck by lightning Monday afternoon, the Bonita Springs Fire District said.

The 35-year-old man, who has not yet been identified, was on the sixth floor lanai of a building under construction off S. Tamiami Trail and Renaissance Boulevard when he was struck in the chest, fire officials said.

Rescuers spent 30 minutes trying to revive him but the man died at the scene, officials said.

No further details were immediately available.

Portions of U.S. 290 were shut down Monday after a truck crash in northwest Houston

JULY 25, 2016

HOUSTON, TEXAS

Portions of U.S. 290 were shut down Monday after a truck crash in northwest Houston, snarling traffic for miles.

The two-vehicle wreck happened about 11 a.m. on the inbound Northwest Freeway near Little York, according to Houston TranStar.

No information was available about possible injuries or what caused the crash.

The wreck forced officials to block all eastbound lanes while crews cleared the scene. It was unknown when they would reopen.

Federal Judge denied motion by CSX Transportation Inc. and Union Tank Car Co. to dismiss a class-action lawsuit filed by emergency responders in a July 2015 freight train derailment in Maryville

The Tennessee Supreme Court has opined emergency responders can sue if their injuries are the result of "a citizen's intentional, malicious or reckless misconduct." 

  Judge Won't Toss TN Responders' Train Crash Suit 

Jamie Satterfield On Jul 25, 2016
Source: Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tenn. (TNS)




Police, firefighters and other first responders sign up for inherently dangerous work, but that doesn't give citizens or businesses a blank check to harm them without financial consequences, a federal judge has ruled in the case of a Maryville train derailment.

Chief U.S. District Judge Tom Varlan has turned aside a bid by CSX Transportation Inc. and Union Tank Car Co. to dismiss a class-action lawsuit filed by emergency responders in a July 2015 freight train derailment in Maryville that sent poisonous smoke into the air and more than 100 people to the hospital.

A broken axle on a single rail car hauling 24,000 gallons of a toxic chemical derailed the 57-car train, causing a fire that burned for 19 hours, authorities said.

About 5,000 people in a 2-mile radius in Blount County were forced to evacuate their homes. At least 87 people had to be treated, with 36 admitted to the hospital, and 10 first-responders also required treatment for the effects of exposure to the noxious smoke. A fish kill was later reported, and area wells tested.

The rail car was carrying a chemical, acrylonitrile, used in the manufacture of plastics. The substance is considered carcinogenic, and exposure can burn the skin, inflame the lining of the lungs, throat and nose, and cause headaches, nausea and dizziness. Cyanide is a byproduct of burning acrylonitrile.

Union Tank Car Co. manufactured the rail car at issue. CSX is accused, among other things, of dragging the rail car nearly 10 miles after the axle broke, which, in turn, caused it to rupture and the derailment to occur. Both companies face class-action lawsuits in U.S. District Court from emergency responders in one action, and property owners in another.

The firms wanted the emergency responders' lawsuit tossed out in its entirety, arguing Tennessee has what's known as the Policemen and Firemen's Rule. Under the rule, police and emergency workers are barred from suing citizens and business owners for injuries those responders suffer on the job.

The principle behind the rule is this: Police and emergency workers know their jobs carry danger of injury and even death. They willingly sign up for that risk. If they could sue the citizens and business owners for whom they are tasked with protecting and serving, people would be loathe to call them for help.

But Varlan ruled this month that the rule is not a complete bar to lawsuits by emergency responders. The Tennessee Supreme Court has opined emergency responders can sue if their injuries are the result of "a citizen's intentional, malicious or reckless misconduct."

In the train derailment, the injured emergency responders contend they toiled hours at the derailment site without being told the smoke was toxic. They did not sign up voluntarily for that kind of risk, Varlan ruled.

"Accordingly, the court finds that the … plaintiffs have sufficiently alleged that being exposed to toxic chemicals is not a reasonably expected danger, given the nature of the police officers' position of employment," Varlan wrote. "As a result, the policemen and firemen's rule will not operate to preclude their claims against CSX and UTC."


 Varlan has dismissed some claims alleged in both lawsuits but is refusing to toss out either in its entirety. He concluded both emergency responders and property owners have, so far, made a case both firms were negligent and that negligence resulted in actual damages.

CSX has complained in prior court filings that it paid more than $3.5 million in damages to evacuated citizens and business owners whose firms were shut down for economic losses and medical bills and to the governments of Maryville and Blount County for its expenses. But its argument that the class-action lawsuits are mere money grabs has failed to convince either U.S. Magistrate Judge Clifford Shirley or Varlan to dismiss the cases.

———

©2016 the Knoxville News-Sentinel (Knoxville, Tenn.)

YOU LIE, YOU LOSE: Two Amtrak workers were charged Tuesday with overbilling the company for more than 900 overtime hours they didn't work

2 Amtrak workers charged in overtime fraud scheme

Updated JulY 19, 2016



NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Two Amtrak workers were charged Tuesday with overbilling the company for more than 900 overtime hours they didn't work.


Federal prosecutors say Richard Vogel, of Edison, New Jersey, and Donald Harper, of Somerset, New Jersey, were charged with fraud on an agency receiving federal funds and theft of government property.


Both men were arrested Tuesday and were scheduled to appear in court in the afternoon. It wasn't known if either man had retained an attorney.


Vogel has worked for Amtrak for 39 years, prosecutors said, and he supervises 35 employees in Amtrak's New York division. They say he fraudulently billed Amtrak for about $71,000, including 688 overtime hours and 41 regular hours he didn't work from November 2015 to June 2016.


Video surveillance was used on Vogel's home to show he was not at work at sites in Linden and Princeton Junction, according to legal documents filed in the case.


Harper, who supervises 19 employees, has worked at Amtrak since 1990. Authorities say he fraudulently billed Amtrak for more than $20,000, including 192 overtime hours and about 28 regular hours.


While investigating the matter, officials looked at cellphone records and billing records. They also tracked data from a GPS device that had been attached to Harper's Amtrak-issued vehicle.


"Amtrak does not tolerate fraud, waste and abuse or behaviors that are inconsistent with our company values and standards of conduct. We expect all employees to charge their time accurately and consistent with company policy and labor agreements," Amtrak spokesman Craig Schulz said.


He said the company will "take the appropriate action" with the two union employees.Harper and Vogel face up to 20 years in prison if convicted in the fraud and theft of funds charges

Elevated concentrations of benzene and other VOCs in groundwater detected near the Union Pacific derailment site in Mosier, Oregon

Mosier Groundwater Contaminated After Oil Train Derailment

by Kate Davidson OPB | Updated: July 21, 2016 9:17 a.m.

 
Emergency crews on June 4, 2016, found an oil sheen on the bank of the Columbia River near the site of an oil train derailment and spill in Mosier, Oregon, the day prior.

Amelia Templeton/OPB

When a Union Pacific oil train derailed and burst into fire in Mosier, Oregon, in June, the initial damage was in plain view, as dark smoke billowed into the sky.

Now OPB has learned about invisible damage: elevated concentrations of benzene and other volatile organic compounds in groundwater near the derailment site.

Bob Schwarz, a project manager with Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality, says Mosier’s drinking water is not at risk, as the closest groundwater drinking wells are uphill from where oil spilled. But he is concerned about wildlife in a nearby wetland. He says cleanup is needed.

“The concentration that we found (of benzene) was 1,800 parts per billion, which is approximately ten times higher than a screening level for what would concern us for animals living in a wetland,” Schwarz told OPB All Things Considered host Kate Davidson.  

Groundwater Contamination in Mosier

Oil spilled from the Union Pacific derailment in June has contaminated groundwater at levels that could harm wildlife, according to DEQ. The chart below shows maximum contaminant levels at a groundwater monitoring well near the derailment, as well as their established risk levels. For example, benzene was measured at 1,800 parts per billion, while the safe threshold for fish exposed to benzene is 130 parts per billion. Officials say area wells used for drinking water are located uphill from the oil spill, and are not at risk of contamination.



Tony Schick, OPB/EarthFix. Source: Oregon Department of Environmental Quality

Multiple fires in the Lawrenceville, Georgia area that may have been caused by lightning from storms

Firefighters battle lightning-related fires in Lawrenceville area in Georgia



From Staff Reports
July 21, 2016


Gwinnett County firefighters found themselves responding to multiple fires in the Lawrenceville area that may have been caused by lightning from storms that moved through the area Thursday afternoon.

Capt. Tommy Rutledge said the most severe fire was at a two-story brick and wood frame house on the 1400 block of Azalea Drive in unincorporated Lawrenceville. Crews responded to the fire at 4:45 p.m. and found flames shooting through the roof and from the second floor. Rutledge said the residents of the house were not home when the fire occurred, and no one was injured while firefighters battled it.

“Firefighters quickly deployed attack hose lines to battle the blaze and conduct a primary search,” Rutledge said in a statement. “The fire burned away much of the roof and caused heavy damage to the structure and contents.”

Among the other lightning-related fires was a fire at a home on the 1600 block of Highland Oaks Way in unincorporated Lawrenceville. Rutledge said crews responded at 4:05 p.m. and found flames and smoke coming from a roof peak on the house. He added a woman and children lived at the house but were outside and safe when firefighters arrived at the house.

Roofing material and exterior siding had to be removed by firefighters to make sure they put the entire fire out, Rutledge said.

The other fire happened on the 500 block of Brandy Creek Circle in unincorporated Lawrenceville. Rutledge said a resident at the home called 911 to report a lightning strike and crews found flames coming from the attic and roof when they arrived at 4:23 p.m.

“The fire caused heavy damage to the roof on the right side and extensive damage inside part of the living space,” Rutledge said.

Shell Oil Co. and Dole Food Co. to pay $120 million for emotional and physical turmoil associated with Carson’s contaminated Carousel tract

Carson’s contaminated Carousel tract wins $120 million settlement
Posted on July 25, 2016 by Sheryl Barr

Source: http://www.dailybreeze.com, July 23, 2016
By: Sandy Mazza

Workers have only just begun removing millions of tons of oil-caked soil left buried for decades in the yards of Carson’s Carousel tract, but a long-awaited financial settlement for the pain and suffering of residents likely will be disbursed before Christmas.

The final payout from two companies deemed responsible for the mess will be $120 million for emotional and physical turmoil, according to an agreement between attorneys reached Friday.

The deal comes after more than a year of legal wrangling between Shell Oil Co., which operated the former oil-tank storage farm on the site, and Dole Food Co., which bought the tract’s developer, Barclay Hollander Corp., and was named responsible for cleaning the property by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board in 2015.

The board found fault in a contract Barclay Hollander signed in the 1960s with Shell to clean up the oil before building homes. Instead, the company just knocked down old tanks and covered the concrete and waste oil with a few feet of clean dirt, according to court documents.

Shell and Dole are still battling in court over who will ultimately pay for the $146 million cleanup being done in groups of eight homes at a time and expected to last six years.

Shell, which was ordered to clean the property in 2011 — three years after the underground dump was discovered during routine testing — 7 Comments in late 2014. Hundreds of current and former residents have claimed damages for anxiety, cancerous tumors, asthma, blood disorders and other ailments related to longtime exposure to benzene and other chemicals in petroleum products.

On Friday, Dole agreed to pay $30 million to settle resident claims for emotional and physical damages. At least 95 percent of plaintiffs must sign off on that amount before it can be disbursed, but the agreement clears the way for attorneys to release Shell’s $90 million payout.

“The developer-defendants have agreed to settlement of their claims for additional payment of $30 million above and beyond” the Shell settlement, said Bob Finnerty, an attorney with the Girardi & Keese law firm, which represents 1,491 current and former residents in the mass tort claim. “I forwarded to the city what I hope to be the final draft of that agreement (Friday). I’m optimistic that they will get money in 90 days.”

City Attorney Sunny Soltani was not available for comment on Friday, but she promised residents at a City Council meeting this week to fast-track the process and ensure that they are well-represented. The city joined the lawsuit in 2012, hoping to help speed up the process.

Barbara Post, president of the Carousel Homeowners Association, told Carson council members Tuesday that she’s skeptical attorneys will maximize the compensation for residents who have suffered the most.

“There is a distinct distrust of our (Girardi & Keese) attorneys by the Carousel residents,” Post said. “We’re sharing this (settlement) with people across the street who have no contamination from Shell Oil, yet we’re told we have to give them something.

“So we’re sharing this with people who have not gone through what we’ve gone through, will not be going through what we’ve gone through. They do not have the same type of illnesses and deaths. They didn’t have it oozing up in their yards like we have.”

Finnerty said attorneys will take 40 percent of the settlement, which is more than the 33 percent Post said she was originally told.

Once the city signs off on the deal, attorneys can authorize a court-appointed “special master,” a retired appellate justice with expertise in mediation and arbitration, to determine how much each plaintiff receives in damages, Finnerty said.

Residents all have to sign off on the additional $30 million settlement before it can be paid out, but the special master will determine settlement amounts for each person using the full $120 million figure, Finnerty said.

“We are very happy with our ability to actually get them these settlements in these amounts,” Finnerty said.

Individual awards will be decided based on the extent of emotional and physical damage suffered.

However, the ongoing cleanup is still taking its toll, Post said.

In May, work began excavating soil and replacing it with uncontaminated dirt at the first cluster of homes in the tract. Affected residents were relocated to a hotel while a tall green temporary fence walled off the construction work from the rest of the neighborhood. Inside the fence, backhoes removed 5 to 10 feet of dirt, and new soil was trucked in to replace it. Shell is providing landscaping and a new paint job for residents.

But the work, originally expected to take three months per cluster, is running more than a month behind schedule, said Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board spokesman Samuel Unger.

“The water board’s major concern is the productivity at this point. The pace of the excavation is taking longer than expected,” Unger said. “I think the challenges of working in such a confined space have proven to be more difficult than we anticipated.

“I think an analysis will have to be done after this first cluster is finished. The water board will meet with the responsible parties and the contractors to see what improvement can be made.”

Odors and other negative effects have been minimal, though work had to be temporarily stopped at least once when the smell of oil became overpowering.

“I happened to take a peek in there, and I was horrified to see 10 homes dug 5 to 10 feet down right up to their foundation,” Post said. “You have no idea the cancer that’s in that tract. I started mapping it out and I stopped. I just cried. I thought, I cannot believe this has happened to the Carousel. “Our latest case of cancer is a 14-year-old girl who spent her birthday in Children’s Hospital. They have no insurance. We have other people in the tract who can’t make their mortgages or buy medication. They need the money and we need the delays to stop.



==============================




Work begins on massive cleanup of contaminated Carousel tract yards in Carson




By Sandy Mazza, Daily Breeze


Posted: 05/13/16, 6:51 PM PDT | Updated: on 05/13/2016 
The Ancheta family of Carson watches from behind a sound barrier as crews begin removing landscaping and soil from around their home at right in the Carousel neighborhood where tainted soil from an old Shell Oil plant needs to be removed. Hundreds of homes are affected and cleanup will take years. May 12, 2016. (Brad Graverson / Staff Photographer)



They had been waiting for this day for eight years. But it was still wrenching for the Ancheta family when it finally came this week.

Their house in Carson’s infamous Carousel tract was the first of hundreds slated for cleanup of tons of soil contaminated with hazardous waste from old oil storage tanks. Beginning a five-year clean-up process across the 50-acre community, workers ripped out carefully manicured plants and lawns and dug up trees.

Teresa Ancheta winced at the sight of her trees being uprooted in front of the home where she’s lived for 26 years.





“I’m very, very sad today seeing the trees come down,” Ancheta said. “They throw away the whole tree and then they will remove everything down to 7 feet. We’ll see what happens. I have three sons and grandchildren. We want to be healthy.”


Like all families in the neighborhood of 285 homes, the Anchetas were told nearly a decade ago that the soil beneath and around their homes was full of toxic petroleum waste. They were warned not to plant vegetables or let their children and pets dig in the yards off Lomita Boulevard and Neptune Avenue, and then — counter-intuitively — assured their health wasn’t in danger from the petroleum hydrocarbons. Many residents suspect the pollution has triggered their medical problems and those of their pets, including asthma, irregular heartbeats, blood disorders and cancerous tumors.





The Ancheta home is in the first cluster of eight houses on one side of 249th Street to be blocked off by a sound wall designed to muffle the construction noise and deflect petroleum odors while remediation takes place.

Work at each cluster will take about three months as contaminated soil is replaced with new dirt and a soil-vapor extraction system is installed to safely remove toxic gases because only a fraction of the roughly 14 million pounds of underground waste oil will be removed across the neighborhood.





Contaminated groundwater plumes that carry future drinking water supplies also will be remediated during the cleanup, which should take five to six years.


Across the street from the Anchetas, neighbors watched the construction with patient skepticism.

“It’s a mess,” said a neighbor who didn’t want to give her name because of an ongoing lawsuit against Shell Oil. “It’s an inconvenience. I have family in from out of town but there’s nowhere to park. In the evening, you get a scent. When my grandmother left, she said: ‘What’s that smell?’ ”

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The pollution was left behind when Shell abandoned its tank farm on the property before the Carousel development was built in the 1960s. Since it was discovered eight years ago, teams of investigators have scoured the community doing tests of soil, soil vapors and air inside and under homes to determine whether toxicity levels threatened health.

About 1,400 current and former residents sued Shell for damages, and the Carson City Council joined the suit in 2013 in an effort to fast-track the cleanup and lawsuit settlement.





The yearslong process spurred residents to become environmental advocates in the city, calling for greater regulations on industrial operations. In 2013, activist Erin Brockovich met with city officials and residents to discuss environmental injustices. A 2000 film dramatized Brockovich’s successful suit against PG&E in the community of Hinkley over groundwater contamination.

Residents have since successfully lobbied the city for more restrictive laws on oil companies and greater oversight of environmental issues in general. The city was a dumping ground for Los Angeles County hazardous waste before it installed its own government in 1968. Today, it could soon be home to the West Coast’s largest oil refinery, if Tesoro’s planned merger of its Carson and Wilmington plants is completed.





City officials and Carousel tract residents have pleaded with Shell to buy them out of their houses so they wouldn’t have to suffer through years of construction and health threats, but the company didn’t agree.

In late 2014, Shell offered to settle disputes over health and emotional damages with residents for $90 million. Residents accepted the offer but haven’t yet received any money because the tract’s developer blocked the disbursement. Dole Food Co., which now owns the company that developed Carousel tract, Barclay Hollander Corp., contests determinations by Shell and the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board that they are responsible for the mess because they agreed to remove the hydrocarbons before building homes, but instead simply covered the pollution with a few feet of clean soil.





Girardi & Keese, the Los Angeles law firm representing residents, is working on a settlement with Dole that would allow Shell to release the $90 million payment to residents, said attorney Robert Finnerty.

“Once the money is dispersed through the Shell settlement, we still have our issue with Dole,” Finnerty said. “We and the water board and the residents are completely frustrated by the delay caused by (Dole). We certainly hope to be able to resolve the case in its entirety. (It’s being held up by) a legal issue that only the court can control. Shell is interested in getting this behind them and finishing the remediation.”


Despite the ongoing court battles, the Regional Water Quality Control Board gave the go-ahead to begin cleaning the 50-acre community in August 2015. Shell anticipates spending about $200 million on the remediation.

A Carousel tract resident who lives nearby in Cluster 17, which will be cleaned in three or four years, echoed what many residents have said this week throughout the process.

“It doesn’t make sense,” said the woman, who didn’t give her name because of the lawsuit. “Why would they spend all that money to clean up the soil? The toxins are going to end up airborne anyway. I don’t get why they don’t just buy us out completely.


“I have three sisters that also live in the tract. I just think it’s ridiculous that this is going to take years, and I just can’t get over that they never settled to buy us all out. Are they waiting for us to pass?”

EPA Proposes $1.9 Million Cleanup Plan for Koppers Pond in Horseheads, NY

EPA Proposes $1.9 Million Cleanup Plan for Koppers Pond in Horseheads
New York Public Meeting: August 4, 7:00pm at Elmira College
07/25/2016
Contact Information:
Michael Basile (basile.michael@epa.gov )
(716) 551-4410

(New York, NY – July 25, 2016) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a plan to address contaminated soil and sediment at Koppers Pond, a part of the Kentucky Avenue Wellfield Superfund site in Horseheads, N.Y. The pond is contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and heavy metals. The EPA plans to cap the pond bottom to prevent exposure to the pollutants and restrict activities that could damage the cap.

The EPA will hold a public meeting on August 4, 2016 to explain the proposed plan and is encouraging public comments. The meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. at Elmira College in Elmira, NY, at Peterson Chapel in Cowles Hall located at the corner of Washington Avenue and Park Place. Written comments will be accepted until August 22, 2016.

Koppers Pond, approximately 12-acres in area, is part of the Kentucky Avenue Wellfield Superfund site located in the Village of Horseheads in Chemung County, N.Y. The Kentucky Avenue Wellfield site was added to the federal Superfund list in 1983 following detection of trichloroethylene (TCE) in a public water supply operated by the Elmira Water Board. Since the 1980’s, several cleanup actions were taken at the site. The wellfield was closed, and residents that had used private wells were connected to the public water supply. As part of earlier cleanup actions, soil that was contaminated with TCE was removed, and a system to treat contaminated groundwater was installed. In addition, sediment that was contaminated with PCBs in the ditch that connects to Koppers Pond was removed.

The proposed plan would require a six inch thick underwater cap on the pond’s bottom and continued restrictions on how the capped area can be used in the future to ensure that activities at the site do not damage the cap. Long-term monitoring of the sediment and fish will be conducted. Fish advisories that have been in place since the late 1980’s would have to be revisited and updated as needed. The EPA will conduct a review of the completed action within five years to ensure the effectiveness of the cleanup.

The Superfund program operates on the principle that polluters pay for the cleanups rather than passing the costs to taxpayers. This phase of the cleanup will cost approximately $1.9 million. EPA expects to enter into negotiations with a group of potentially responsible parties for performance of the work at the site.

Written comments may be mailed or emailed to:

Isabel R. Fredricks, Remedial Project Manager

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

290 Broadway

20th Floor

New York, N.Y. 10007

rodrigues.isabel@epa.gov

The proposed plan and more information about the site are available at: www.epa.gov/superfund/kentucky-avenue

Metropolitan Engineering, Consulting, Forensics, and Environmental Remediation Services. Construction, Investigation, Remediation and Forensic Expert Engineers

Construction Defects, Construction Claims, Engineering, Property & Casualty Investigations, Assessment, Site Investigation, Remediation, Litigation and Indoor-Air Expert Engineers

Bill Stephan, PhD, PE, CIH, CHMM, JD, MBA

Principal Engineer

P.O. Box 520

Tenafly, New Jersey 07670-0520

Phone: (973) 897-8162

Fax: (973) 810-0440

E-mail: metroforensics@gmail.com

__________________________________________________

Firm Overview

The engineering and forensic firm of Metropolitan Forensics and Consulting Engineering and Environmental Services was established for the purpose of providing a high value service to the insurance industry and to the insured companies or individuals. Our founding principal (Bill Stephan) is a licensed professional engineer in several states, including, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

We specialize in the in-situ remediation of petroleum and chlorinated spills, the defense of liability claims, the investigation and defense of first or third party insurance claims and the handling of subrogation claims.  We are also experts on oil and gas energy sector issues (design, investigations, construction oversight), renewable energy sector (wind turbines, solar panels, biofuels, etc), vapor intrusion evaluation, vapor phase and transport and in design on vapor mitigation systems.  Additionally, we offer forensic engineering services, including age-dating of contaminant releases, construction defects, oversight, evaluation of remedial alternatives, sub-slab ventilation system design and installation.  The list of our core services is:

• Cause and Origin Investigations
• Construction Failure Analysis (Residential, Industrial and Commercial)
• Structural Integrity Evaluation
  
• Site Investigation
• Tank removals and tank installations; licensed and insured to perform entire UST work
  
• In-Situ Remediation of Soil and Groundwater
  
• Vapor intrusion, indoor air evaluation and mitigation
  
• Causation
• Forensic Investigations (age-dating)
• Oversight
• Review of Remedial Action Work Plans
• Reserve Estimation
• Cost Allocation
• RAWP Preparation
• Site Remediation
• Cleanup Level Development and Negotiation
• Subrogation
• Expert Witness/Litigation Support
• Licensed Site Remediation Professional (LSRP) Services
• Construction Claims (Delay, Differing Site Conditions, Loss of Productivity, Acceleration, and others)
  

 





















Additional Specialty Service Areas

Age Dating
Boilers & Burners
Bridges
Building Codes
Building Inspections

Construction Accident
   Reconstruction
Construction Defects
Construction Delay Claims
Construction Surety Claims
Construction Disputes
Construction Differing Condition Claims
Construction Oversight
Construction Management
Construction Acceleration Claims

Construction Failures
Construction Injuries
Contractor Performance Issues
Corrosion

Defective Designs
Defective Roadway Design
   Evaluations

Earthquake
Electrical Accidents/Injuries
Electrical Equipment Failures
Electrical Fires
Elevators, Escalators
   & Conveyors
Embedded Software Hazards
   & Analysis
Equipment Failures
Errors and Omissions
Explosions
Failure Analysis
Fire
Fire Codes
Fire Protection Systems
Fire Suppression Systems
Flood Damage Assessment

Foundation Systems

Gas Systems
Hailstorm damage

Heating & Ventilation Systems
Heavy Construction
Highway/Roadway Design
Human Factors

Indoor Air Quality
Laboratory Services
Ladders, Scaffolding Falls
   & Failures
Lightning

Mechanical Defect Evaluations
Metallurgical Age Dating
Mold Causation
Natural Disasters/Weather
   Related Issues
Nuclear Energy
Occupational Hazards
   & Illness
Piping
Playground Equipment Injuries
Plumbing
Product Failures
Roofing Problems & Failures
Safety Codes
Safety & Human Factors
   Engineering
Scalding
Scene Mapping and Photographs
Sick Building Syndrome
Sports Equipment Injuries
Standardized Codes
Steam Systems
Subrogation Issues

Transportation Issues
Trips, Slips & Falls
Underground Storage Tanks
Utilities Expertise
Vibration
Water Damage
Windstorm

Mission Statement

Our mission is to work as an extension of our clients to expeditiously achieve the most economically favorable resolution of claims on their behalf and on behalf of their insured. We have developed and will continue to create new solutions to the technical problems and issues which are facing the insurance industry and the insureds today.  

Metropolitan provides forensic engineering work (age-dating or fingerprinting), site remediation, auditing, cost control and litigation support services to insurance carriers, their insureds and to private or public companies.  In its risk management role, examines, manages and audits environmental claims to ensure that assessment and remediation services provided to both carriers and policy holders are reasonable and necessary, properly rendered and appropriately charged. 

In its litigation support role, Metropolitan assists carriers and their counsel to ensure that litigious disputes are resolved fairly and reimbursement benefits are provided when appropriate.  The corporations service area includes the entire United States, with our corporate office located in Northern New Jersey.  The Firm's professional staff also travels regularly throughout the United States on assignment.

Forensics at Metropolitan

There are many issues associated with disputes over responsibility for cleanup. Who, what, when, where, and how chemicals were released can be investigated. The tools of forensic investigation include mathematical models, statistical models, fate and transport calculations, chromatography, lead isotope analyses, time of travel assessments, library search site characterization, tracer additives, and recently developed software applications.

Effective forensic project management should include an evaluation of multiple forensic tools based on site specific circumstances. The process of evaluation and the ultimate selection of the forensic tool are critical to a successful outcome. When project budgets allow, combining forensic methods for corroborative evidence can substantially strengthen your client’s position in an effort to prevent or support litigation. The effective forensic consultant must be well acquainted with an ever expanding list of analytical methods, environmental regulations, assessment procedures and remedial technologies.

The forensic field is one that utilizes a wide range of scientific tools to identify and characterize complex adverse environmental events. Some of the scientific disciplines involved in forensics include engineering principles (biological, physical and chemical), hydrology, lithology, geology, site history, site practices, mathematics, and statistics. These areas may be combined with technologies such as respiratory analyses, chromatography/mass spectrometry and chemical fingerprinting methods to answer complex questions with the ultimate goal of establishing responsibility for a particular event. Accurate, defensible forensic analyses are an essential component of any strategy that attempts to resolve the extent of the insurer or insured client responsibilities in the cleanup of contaminants.

Contact us online or call 973-897-8162 to learn more about our forensic services.

Property Damage Services at Metropolitan

Metropolitan assists property owners, claims professionals, businesses, and attorneys in   the assessment of the cause & origin (C&O), extent of damage and required restoration after pipe bursts, settlements, manufacturing and construction failures, fire, flood, earthquake, or storm damage.  Our teams of engineers have extensive experience in the many systems that make up a building including structural, mechanical and electrical systems.   We also have the necessary background to evaluate property damage to items such as communications towers or solar panels. We can help determine alternative, appropriate, and cost effective solutions for repair or restoration of any damaged property, both commercial and residential. 

Providing Competent, Expert and Objective Investigative Engineering and Consulting Services.

Our experts are multi-skilled, competent, and objective professionals who apply their analytical and common sense skills to reconstruct, determine the root cause, and document the events that give rise to property, casualty, and liability claims.  Thorough investigations and detailed measurements/research help us distinguish between pre-existing conditions and sudden and accidental losses.

 






























Our investigations are:

·         Comprehensive & Accurate

·         Legible & Easy to Understand

·         Timely Performed

·         Delivered Quickly

·         Cost Effective

·         Clear & Concise

·         Developed by Professionals

·         Dependable

·         Our own uniform reporting system saves time and money.

Our Fast Track Investigation and Uniform Format Reporting systems allow us to conduct and deliver a comprehensive response to the assigned claim.  In most cases, we will obtain findings based on a site visit, visual observations, photographs, interviews, and field measurements.  Further investigations and testing will be provided upon request and approval by the client.

Forensic Investigation of Property Damage Claims

Metropolitan Consulting, Engineering & Forensics understands your need to complete a claim investigation accurately and efficiently as possible.  Whether it is accident reconstruction, damage due to environmental forces such as wind, water, hail, snow, tornado, etc.; fire origin & cause investigation or any other claim, the engineers at Metropolitan understand both you and your client want to resolve the claim.  The analysis you receive from Metropolitan will be accurate and complete, giving you the information needed in the claim adjustment and analysis.

Our services have extended beyond the forensic analysis phase into the remediation and repair phase of many large loss claims.  Upon the completion of the cause and origin (C&O) investigation, Metropolitan can provide our clients with complete working drawings and specifications needed to repair or rebuilt damaged buildings or other structures.  Metropolitan Consulting & Engineering’ staff possesses many-many years of experience in rehabilitation design, construction management, and project oversight to ensure the loss is restored in a timely and cost-effective manner without sacrificing quality.  Building code knowledge allows us to identify possible code upgrades as needed.  Metropolitan understands constructability and realizes making an insured whole goes beyond forensic investigation and design. We pride ourselves in providing practical solutions contractors can understand and follow.

At the forefront of available technology, we provide professionals and staff capable of handling a variety of engineering evaluations.  Our reports are clear, concise, complete and efficiently produced.  Our engineering objectives are achieved in an ethical manner consistent with the traditions and character of engineering professionals.

Contact us online or call 973-897-8162 to learn more about our property damage services.

Extensive Experience helping Sureties

Metropolitan also has extensive experience helping sureties fulfill their bond obligations resolve disputes after a contractor has defaulted.  This work includes the evaluation of contractor bid pricing, evaluation of the contractor’s ability to perform work, risk assessment, evaluation of termination, construction completion services, claim and litigation support services, loss recovery services, evaluation of payment bond claims, negotiation and settlement of payment bond claims, and construction defects investigation services.  Metropolitan has provided these services for commercial, development, educational, and assisted living projects.

Construction is a business fraught with risk.  Disputes over even the smallest of issues can quickly escalate, with crippling consequences to the project and the parties.  Over the years, the construction industry has developed various methods of contractually allocating the risk of project delay and disruption.  Some of these methods include liquidated damages provisions, "no damages for delay" clauses, mutual waivers of consequential damages, provisions that limit liability, claims notice provisions, and provisions addressing responsibility for the adequacy of the construction plans and specifications.  Parties frequently litigate the sufficiency of these risk-shifting efforts in conjunction with the underlying merits of delay and disruption disputes.

Construction Claims & Disputes

The most frequently encountered claims include:

1.            Construction Delay Claims

2.            Disruption and Loss of Labor Productivity Claims

3.            Design and Construction Defect Claims

4.            Force Majeure Claims

5.            Acceleration or Compression of the Schedule Claims

6.            Suspension, Termination and Default Claims

7.            Differing Site Conditions Claims

8.            Change Order and Extra Work Claims

9.            Cost Overrun Claims

10.         Unacceptable Workmanship or Substituted Material Claims

11.         Non-payment Claims (stop notice (or Notice to Withhold) claims, mechanics’ lien (only for private construction projects) and payment bond claims)

Forensic Engineering Experience Case Studies

Metropolitan staff has developed and utilized scientific methods to assist clients in a variety of ways related to their claim issues. The following is a partial list of such projects:

• Provided expert witness services for plaintiff seeking remediation of contaminated groundwater that caused indoor air inhalation problems;
• Testified that engineering and scientific evidence was improperly collected and analyzed and was inadequate to show the age of the release;
• Origin and cause of retaining wall failures.  
• Lightning damage to structures or electrical systems and equipment
• Roof failure or collapse as a result of accumulated load, additional weight and snow drift at hundreds of commercial and residential properties.
• Demonstrated that solvents in groundwater at client's property originated from off-site dry-cleaner and that client's site actually provided remediation for the off-site release of dry cleaning solvent;
• Expert witness for property owner impacted by industrial waste disposal from industrial manufacturer;
• Demonstrated that environmental analysis by a previous consultant for a manufacturing site was inadequate; as a result, the lender's concerns were alleviated and financing proceeded;
• Chemical "age-dating" and contaminant transport analyses of petroleum in groundwater at a gas station showed that contaminants originated from other parties;
• Age-dated petroleum release at a former gas station to show that the previous owner of the gas station caused groundwater contamination;
• Age-dated petroleum releases at an industrial facility to show that the on-site plume was the result of an off-site source;
• Prepared age-dating reports for over one-hundred residential fuel oil spills;
• Assisted insurance companies attorneys in defending subrogation claims; was able to demonstrate that the forensic data collected by the first party consultant were collected and analyzed using invalid methods;
• Demonstrated that structural damage to a residence was from a source other than the alleged high lake level
• Collected evidence (for the primary responsible party) that identified other responsible parties to share in the cost of a Superfund cleanup;
• Review of the site data at a bulk petroleum facility indicated that the site releases were not the result of regular oil transfer operations and that they were caused by the negligent actions of the insured’s agents; the case was settled in favor of the insurance company;
• Was able to demonstrate that the majority of the removal actions at petroleum release sites were neither reasonable nor necessary; as a result of our opinion, the insurance client settled the claim in favorable terms;
• At several drycleaner sites we were able to demonstrate that the age of the release was much earlier than the parties originally believed; as a result, the insurance client settled the claim at a fraction of the alleged liability;
• We performed numerous flood and wind damage assessments at commercial and residential properties.

Contact us online or call 973-897-8162 to learn more about our forensic engineering services.

Site Remediation Services

 Characterizing and remediating contaminated sites involve some of the most complex and difficult issues for environmental lawyers and their clients. Problem areas include responding to regulators; negotiating enforcement settlements; negotiating or litigating cost allocation and recovery claims; working with the insured or insurer client, lawyers and regulators to develop efficient, cost-effective remediation approaches; and selling, buying, or developing contaminated properties.

Metropolitan staff has developed and applied an innovative approach to the use of sodium persulfate for the sequential in-situ treatment of subsurface contaminants through chemical oxidation followed by enhanced biological degradation through sulfate reduction. This approach has broad applicability to a wide range of contaminants, and shows strong cost-saving benefits through reducing the initial volume of chemical oxidant necessary and enhancing the in-situ biological degradation of contaminants.

Through proper subsurface geochemical characterization and chemical dosing design, the approach focuses on utilizing the oxidant for immediate mass reduction at the source area, followed by degradation or polishing of the residual contamination using sulfate reducing bacteria.  Depending upon the oxidant activation method, this approach is applicable to petroleum hydrocarbons including both volatiles and PAHs, chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs) including chlorinated ethene, ethane and methane groups, as well as PCBs.

Contact us online or call 973-897-8162 to learn more about our Site Remediation Services.

Vapor Intrusion and Indoor-Air Studies

Vapor intrusion has received increased attention over the last few years near contaminated sites because some contaminants have the potential to migrate into nearby buildings and negatively affect indoor air quality. The accumulation of these volatile vapors in buildings can result in significant safety and health concerns.
To properly evaluate vapor intrusion a thorough evaluation of the building's ventilation system and subsurface conditions needs to be conducted by a knowledgeable professional in accordance with state and federal established procedures. 
The evaluation process typically includes a thorough building chemical inventory, the advancement of soil gas probes and the collection of soil gas samples. When indoor air quality problems are identified they can normally be resolved through the modification/installation of a properly designed ventilation system.
Metropolitan is well experienced with U.S. EPA and State vapor intrusion investigation techniques. We have completed numerous vapor intrusion and indoor air quality studies at commercial and residential properties. We have the experience to identify and resolve indoor vapor intrusion problems and the practical know-how to resolve indoor quality issues in an efficient and cost effective manner.
Contact us online or call 973-897-8162 to learn more about our Vapor Intrusion and Indoor Air Studies.

Metropolitan Engineering, Consulting, Forensics, and Environmental Remediation Services.

Construction, Investigation, Remediation and Forensic Expert  Engineers

P.O. Box 520

Tenafly, New Jersey 07670-0520

Ph.: (973) 897-8162

Fax: (973) 810-0440

metroforensics@gmail.com

Contact: Dr. Bill N. Stephan, PhD, PE, JD, CIH, MBA, CHMM

Insurance claim examiners, insureds, insurers, insurance adjusters and risk managers use Metropolitan for determining cause, evaluating the extent of damage, determining the age of the release, separating unrelated damage, analyzing loss scopes and managing restoration data, determining costs to repair, restore or replace, and preparing for insurance appraisals.

Attorneys call on Metropolitan for help when preparing for Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution such as arbitration and mediation